Dartmouth Professor Declines Dean of Faculty Post

Top administrators at Dartmouth College stood behind N. Bruce Duthu despite charges that supported a boycott on Israeli academic institutions in 2013

Credit Flickr Creative Commons / Brave Sir Robin

Dartmouth Professor N. Bruce Duthu has turned down the position of Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences following charges that he supported a boycott of Israeli academic institutions.

Duthu, a professor of Native American Studies and an Associate Dean, was appointed earlier this spring to be the next Dean of the Faculty starting July 1.

But another Dartmouth Professor, Alan Gustman, sent a letter to faculty earlier this month criticizing the nomination. He pointed to Duthu’s connection to a 2013 letter from the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association urging a boycott of Israeli academic institutions. Several media outlets then picked up the story.

Duthu maintained the support of Dartmouth President Phil Hanlon and Provost Carolyn Dever, but he decided to decline the Dean of the Faculty position. "Whether warranted or not, this matter has been and will likely continue to be a significant distraction for me professionally and a source of considerable pain and frustration for me personally,” he wrote in an email to faculty Monday.

Duthu will remain on the Native American Studies Faculty, but will step down from his Associate Dean position July 1.

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